We Survived Getting Swallowed by a Whale
Respect and revere (敬畏) nature. I’m Julie, 56 years old, living in San Luis Obispo, California, about four miles from the beach. Every few years, the humpback whales come into the bay for several days while migrating.
In November 2020, the whales were around, so I took out my yellow double kayak (皮划艇) to watch the wildlife. I paddled out the pier (长堤) and saw seals, dolphins, and about 20 whales feeding on silverfish. They sprayed through their blowholes. Each one is huge, about 15 metres long. Sometimes they turned side fins as if waving at me. It was incredible.
At the time, my friend Liz was with me. We had met 28 years earlier. I asked Liz if she wanted to see the whales. I really wanted to share the magnificent experience with her.
“No way,” she said. She’s terrified of whales and sharks. I promised that the craft was stable and safe enough. Moreover, humpback whales couldn’t swallow down kayaks for their throats were tight even though they had enormous mouths and white-wall-like internal mouth structures, not to mention that we got paddles and life jackets. After some persuasion, Liz finally agreed.
We set off at about 8:30 the next morning. There were already about 15 other kayakers in the bay. One hour later, I spotted two whales right past the pier, swimming toward us. We were in awe, feeling amazed to be so close to a creature that size.
When whales swam down after breaching (跃身激浪), they disappeared in ripples. I figured if we paddled there, we’d be safe since they’d just left. We followed them at a distance—or what I thought was a distance. I later learned that it’s recommended to keep 90 metres away, or about the length of a football field. We were probably 18 metres away.
All of a sudden, a swarm (群) of fish started jumping out of the water into our kayak. Their movement sounded like crackling glass. Now I knew we were too close. I was terrified. Then our kayak was lifted out of the water—about two metres—and tipped back into the ocean. I figured the whale was going to drag us down somehow, and I had no idea how deep.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I didn’t realize that Liz and I sitting in the kayak were in the whale’s mouth.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thankfully, the whale spitted us out, people paddling to help, shooting videos.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . As my son entered adolescence, we spent most of our time in separate rooms. I know it’s
I saw him
Travelling meant we were more like
A.interesting | B.natural | C.Strange | D.legal |
A.pick | B.keep | C.draw | D.talk |
A.Driven | B.Burdened | C.Touched | D.Improved |
A.dropped by | B.got through | C.looked up | D.headed to |
A.lucky | B.tidy | C.sleepy | D.busy |
A.friends | B.plans | C.mood | D.chance |
A.fighting | B.stopping | C.begging | D.hunting |
A.space | B.news | C.value | D.money |
A.assistant | B.passenger | C.resident | D.guide |
A.maintain | B.fix | C.observe | D.hire |
A.differently | B.immediately | C.accurately | D.traditionally |
A.stand | B.gather | C.freeze | D.hold |
A.impact | B.strike | C.negotiate | D.progress |
A.streams | B.tourists | C.actors | D.equals |
A.dream | B.child | C.male | D.future |
3 . What’s the truth of joy? I was obsessed with this question when I was young. However,ever since I started my own family, this quest has been buried under my workloads and daily chores.
In 2008, Memorial Day weekend promised to deliver beautiful weather—not always the case at that time of year, so I decided to spend that Saturday shopping and do one big cleaning, starting with the garage. Our two-car garage, as always, was full of stuff. Boxes piled one on top of another, bikes crossed together. A garden hose (软水管) sat in a corner. We had to turn sideways when getting in and out. I planned to pull everything out on the driveway, hose down the entire garage, and after it was dry, put everything back more organized.
With the morning moving along, the possibility to finish the cleaning within the day began to look less and less likely. I recalled how I had been feeling discontented lately while taking care of our stuff. Here was yet another time!Then my neighbor June, who was working in her yard, heard my sigh and said jokingly, “The joy of home ownership, huh? That’s why my daughter keeps telling me I don’t need to own all this stuff.”
I don’t need to own all this stuff.
As I turned to look at the fruits of my morning labor, I began to recognize the source of my feelings for the first time. It was piled up in my driveway. As I surveyed the pile I made, the answer to the obsolete (被遗忘的) question came to light: There is more joy to be found in possessing less than we can ever find possessing more.
I ran inside the house and found my wife upstairs cleaning the bathtub. Still trying to catch my breath, tI said, “Kim, you’ll never guess what just happened. June said we don’t need to own all this stuff!”
And in that moment, a minimalist family was born.
1. Which of the following best describes the to-be-cleaned garage?A.Spacious and well-lit. | B.Neatly labeled and sorted. |
C.Disordered and jam-packed. | D.Narrow and weather-beaten. |
A.He went through unaccountable frustration. | B.He figured out his disinterest in cleaning. |
C.He initiated it and enjoyed the process. | D.He lost patience and rushed to the end. |
A.The pleasure of possessing a home. | B.The significance of owning a family. |
C.The convenience of having a garage. | D.The demands of maintaining a house. |
A.He favored living with a handful of people. | B.He wanted to quit being a slave of stuff. |
C.He considered cleaning a waste of time. | D.He figured out the joy of ownership. |
4 . Our neighbors had a loud party last night. We weren’t
What
And it really worked in their favor. My husband and I were so friendly that even when the event went past the
It takes such little effort to make people feel that they
A.located | B.explored | C.challenged | D.invited |
A.trapped | B.impressed | C.annoyed | D.embarrassed |
A.later | B.closer | C.earlier | D.further |
A.shocking | B.frightening | C.puzzling | D.amazing |
A.call number | B.room number | C.account number | D.car number |
A.anxiously | B.politely | C.regularly | D.obviously |
A.imagination | B.consideration | C.recognition | D.organization |
A.promised | B.supplied | C.designed | D.compared |
A.stress | B.anxiety | C.worry | D.anger |
A.respond | B.adapt | C.contribute | D.stick |
A.figure | B.succeed | C.matter | D.access |
A.sleep | B.maintain | C.travel | D.relax |
A.noticed | B.delivered | C.explored | D.proved |
A.surrounding | B.respect | C.curiosity | D.distance |
A.strategy | B.apology | C.communication | D.inspiration |
Tom is a special child. Ever since he was little, dogs have been his greatest passion. He often growled (低吼) and barked and sometimes moved around the house on all fours. His parents brought in a little brown female dog named Lynn. Tom was on cloud nine. One day, this little boy, together with Lynn, was sitting quietly down by the side of the street when suddenly a giant dog walked across him. He was a little surprised and started screaming as loudly as he could! All of this frightened Lynn away immediately.
Tom’s parents tried to see what the chances were of Lynn coming home on her own. But five days later, there was still no sign of Lynn. The boy didn’t just have tears streaming down his cheeks — his parents were saddened too.
The woods behind their home stretched for over 50 miles! Together with their neighbors, they searched for over a month. But Lynn was gone. Tom’s parents wanted to choose a new puppy for him. But no dog could replace Lynn for him.
Tom was not the same boy. He locked himself in his room. He seemed to have lost his love for dogs. He could not focus his attention on his classes so he didn’t want to go to school. He would easily get angry with people around him. Tom changed from a happy, smiling boy to an upset and annoying kid.
Tom’s parents wanted him to stay home and he had been studying at home ever since. His parents accompanied him almost every day, but staying home didn’t help much. The boy’s mother worried a lot. One rainy afternoon, she saw him staring out the window. “I miss Lynn so much. I wonder if everything is okay with her?” It had been a long time since his beloved dog ran away, but Tom’s despair was as great as the day it happened. Days later, Tom walked out the front door with his head down and sat by the side of the street.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A huge brown dog crossed the street and stood in front of the crying boy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tom ran after Lynn and entered the woods.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Baseball was everything to Walker Smallwood. But when he was just 14 years old, he got heartbreaking news that he had a rare form of bone cancer growing in his left leg. His baseball playing came to a sudden stop as he spent the next three years undergoing six surgeries, 24 treatments and 18 hospital stays.
The young pitcher’s leg would never be strong enough to make competitive playing an option. “At the time I guess I was just kind of in denial, because my whole life, day in and day out, was built around baseball and sports,” Walker said. “It was pretty disastrous,” his mom, Pam said. The most the 17-year-old would be able to do is play catch with his teammates as they warmed up for their games.
As the team approached the final game of the season, Walker’s parents and coach agreed that he could pitch (投球) for an inning (一局) or two for the old time’s sake.
“Say you did it, have some fun, and then that’ll be it. Obviously, that’s not what happened,” Walker said.
What ended up happening was more than anyone ever expected. Walker not only threw solid pitches in that first inning, but he also ended up pitching a no-hitter. The coach decided to keep him in the game until he started giving up pitches, but that never happened. Smallwood struck out all but two hitters for the entire game and tied a school record in the process.
“I was in tears, most of the stands were in tears — just one of those special moments that we’ll cherish forever,” mom Pam said. Smallwood may never play again. He’s actually fine with that now because who needs a World Series ring when you’ve already taken on your greatest competitor and gone undefeated.
1. What does the word “It” underlined in paragraph 2 refer to?A.The serious injury to his leg. | B.The childhood baseball dream. |
C.The risk of multiple surgeries. | D.The long-term mental stress. |
A.Confident and energetic. | B.Ambitious and determined. |
C.Brilliant and considerate. | D.Optimistic and independent. |
A.To emphasize the value of cherishing every moment. |
B.To stress the significance of any championship prize. |
C.To highlight Walker’s personal success at the game. |
D.To serves as a reminder of challenges in Walker’s life. |
A.Misfortune can tell us what fortune is. | B.You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
C.Constant dropping wears away a stone. | D.What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. |
For years, putting up Christmas lights had been a family tradition for the Patrick’s household. It was an occasion when they would busily prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
Their Christmas light display was always a highlight of the neighborhood and brought much delight to the whole community. Typically, Anthony would invite the neighbors over as they decorated the Christmas tree in the front yard. Emily, who lived next door and had known Sara’s family for long, often came to admire their wonderland of Christmas lights.
In early December, Anthony would string colorful lights all around their roof until it looked dazzling. On the front lawn, he would blow up a large white Frosty the Snowman and a Rudolph with a glowing red nose. Sara always joined in, along with their warm-hearted neighbors, hanging gifts on the tree and playing “White Christmas” over and over to keep everyone in the spirit.
Yet the bad news came in the midst of the festive mood, before they could finish the Christmas decoration. Anthony fell desperately ill. The symptoms suggested acute heart failure and he was soon admitted to hospital. Sara spent days and nights in the ward, attending to Anthony and praying for his recovery, though the hope was slim. On Christmas Eve, Anthony passed away.
It came as a huge blow to Sara. In the following days, she had to manage the funeral while struggling to figure out a way to cover housing and household expenses, and tackling a seemingly endless list of difficult to-dos. Perhaps hardest of all, she had to persuade herself into accepting the loss of her father. It was too much to take.
When she pulled up to the house after a long day on the go, the only thing that could comfort her were the twinkling Christmas lights, which brought her a spark of hope-it felt as if the brightness of the lights could cancel out some of the darkness of the past days’ misfortune.
Wanting to help, Emily shared their story on a community website.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Touched by their kindness, Sara decided to fulfill the lighting decorations, though Christmas was gone.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There was once a strong wrestler (摔跤手) called Vijay Singh. Warm-hearted but fond of boasting (吹牛), he said he was brave enough to meet the ghost in the Haunted Desert. The evil ghost illegally gathered lots of treasures so the villagers suffered a lot.
That evening almost the entire village turned up to say good-bye to Vijay Singh. Just then an old woman came forward and forced a block of salt and an egg into his hands.
Stepping into the Haunted Desert, Vijay Sing h heard a ghost calling his name. “Really, I don’t know why you longed to meet me,” said the ghost. “That proves,” said Vijay Singh, “that you are a stupid ghost.”
Vijay Sing h picked up a piece of rock from the sand and told the ghost to press it hard to get fluid (液体). While the ghost tried hard, Vijay Singh secretly took out the egg from his pocket. Surely the ghost failed. Vijay Singh placed the rock between both hands and pressed it. At once the yellow yolk (蛋黄) flowed from around his fingers. The ghost was so astonished.
Vijay Singh then picked up another piece of rock for the ghost. “That stone contains salt. Break it and see.” Again the ghost tried hard, but in vain. Vijay Singh quickly got the block of salt in his hand before taking the stone from the ghost. Then he let the stone drop in the darkness, held out his hand and commanded the ghost to taste the powdered stone. The ghost was now beginning to doubt his ghostly powers.
Later the ghost invited Vijay Singh to his cave for the night. The ghost led him to a luxurious bed to sleep on. But Vijay Sing h lay awake listening to the snores (鼾声) of the ghost. At midnight, he slipped off his bed. He placed a pillow in the centre of the bed, and covered it to make it look exactly like a sleeping man. Then he sat watchfully in a dark corner.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为 150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just before the daybreak, the ghost approached the bed armed with a strong stick.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Disturbed by the noise, the ghost surprisedly saw Vijay Singh stretching his arms and yawning.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . Last summer I talked with my daughter studying in her last year in high school about her graduation album. I asked which
After two
Yes. I could have picked a photo my daughter didn’t like and submitted it behind her back, but I knew it wouldn’t have
My daughter is
I had my senior year and did it the way I wanted. Now it’s my daughter’s
A.reporter | B.photographer | C.volunteer | D.teacher |
A.paid | B.imagined | C.declined | D.chose |
A.buy | B.deliver | C.pick | D.borrow |
A.keeps | B.expects | C.loses | D.dislikes |
A.shame | B.joke | C.punishment | D.hit |
A.helpful | B.sure | C.safe | D.happy |
A.seconds | B.hours | C.months | D.decades |
A.celebration | B.schedule | C.semester | D.deadline |
A.drawing | B.design | C.picture | D.number |
A.disappointing | B.positive | C.strange | D.unclear |
A.worked | B.looked | C.covered | D.moved |
A.great | B.old | C.calm | D.kind |
A.laugh at | B.exchange for | C.hand in | D.care about |
A.hope | B.explain | C.determine | D.mean |
A.turn | B.result | C.action | D.answer |
10 . Matthew Cuthbert and his sister, Marilla, live on Green Gables farm, in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. They want to adopt an orphan boy, but Matthew doesn’t find the boy at the train station. Instead, he is attracted by a sweet, talkative 11-year-old girl called Anne. Having heard about Anne’s poor childhood, they think Anne might not be the “useful boy” they’ve wanted to work on the farm, but she needs their sympathy. Anne is overjoyed to be allowed to stay.
On Anne’s second morning at home, however, Matthew abruptly suffers from a heart attack. Soon, Marilla sees a specialist and learns that unless she takes measures to prevent her eyesight, she will be blind within six months. Anne finds herself involved in a dilemma.
Anne, anyway, gradually gets familiar with the beauties of Green Gables, the household duties she will have to fulfill. Even though Marilla often scolds Anne for daydreaming and ignoring her chores, both she and Matthew find Anne’s imaginative talk amusing, and soon they can’t picture the farm without her.
In the fall, Anne starts off well at Avonlea School, but then she’s teased by Gilbert Blythe, a handsome boy in her grade, for her red hair. Anne hits Gilbert on the head, and she is punished by her teacher and refuses to attend school for a while. After Anne returns to school, she takes a renewed enthusiasm in her studies and a growing academic competition with Gilbert. Besides, Anne forms a story club to help her friends improve their imaginations.
When she is 16, Anne studies for the entrance exam to Queen’s Academy. With intense effort, Anne and Gilbert both get the highest exam scores in Prince Edward Island, broadening Anne’s ambitions for the future. The following September, Matthew and Marilla, both tearful over Anne’s growing up, say goodbye when Anne settles into Queen’s for the year. Anne earns teacher certificate, and though she’s defeated by Gilbert for the highest academic honor, she wins a scholarship.
1. What makes Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt Anne?A.Anne’s pitiful childhood. | B.Anne’s attractive appearance. |
C.Anne’s easy-going personality. | D.Anne’s familiarity with farm work. |
A.She teases her classmate. | B.She hurts a handsome boy. |
C.She fails to get good scores. | D.She refuses to attend school. |
A.She defeats Gilbert academically. |
B.She is full of hope for the future study. |
C.She earns the highest academic honor. |
D.She is discouraged not to be admitted into the college. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Amused. | C.Indifferent. | D.Content. |